


I wouldn't drink that if I were you, kid

by Lequia



Series: Insomnia [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 16:15:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14109189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lequia/pseuds/Lequia
Summary: In which Peter Parker feels abandoned, Tony Stark manages to screw things up even more, and DUM-E may or may not have found another fire extinguisher.





	I wouldn't drink that if I were you, kid

**Author's Note:**

> In my defense, I haven't been sleeping for the last 48 hours. Please show mercy 'cause I have literally no bloody clue how this one turned out, as far as I know it could be a total mess tbh.

Peter Parker wasn't stupid. He kinda knew that by rejecting Mr. Stark's offer to become an Avenger, something he always wanted to be a part of, he lost his _Internship_ once and for all. Tony Stark wasn't responsible for him anymore, not that Peter thought he was in the first place, he could take care of himself, thank you very much, but something about his childhood hero looking after him, at least sort of, calmed his senses. So yeah, even though he played it cool in the Avengers Compound, his heart broke into a million pieces as he turned around.

_That was a test, right?_

_Yes, you passed._

They both knew that it wasn't a test, and Peter surely did not pass, quite the opposite. So yes, deep down, the young vigilante knew that he wouldn't see Mr. Stark again, at least not face to face.  
But as soon as he saw the brown paperbag on his bed in their tiny flat in Queens?

_This belongs to you._

Peter Parker wasn't stupid, but he could feel the hope blossoming in his chest again.

Which was forgotten shortly after because of his aunt's scream as she saw him in his suit. He even jumped out of the window, hoping that she hadn't seen enough to put two and two together. Of course that was a poor decision to make, May nearly ripping his ear off as he entered their apartment a few hours later, scolding him like never before. He didn't even try to defend himself, knowing when to shut up and listen.

Up until she wanted him to stop being Spider-Man.

"Aunt May, I can't just stop!" he cried, heart beating faster than ever before. Nearly falling off an airplane wasn't as bad as the thought of just not being Spider-Man anymore. How could he?

"You can and you will. You are fifteen, Peter, fifteen! Throw away that stupid Stark suit and you're back to being a normal kid!"

He couldn't look at her as he explained that the suit wasn't what made him Spider-Man, that her nephew was a weird mutant who was at the wrong place at the wrong time, getting bitten by a radioactive spider of all things. Silence filled the room, his skin prickling with anxiety, waiting for her response.

He was surprised as she hugged him, cradling her fingers through his curly hair as he let go and cried, telling him that it was going to be okay, because sometimes responsibility was just too heavy for him to bear and he was so glad that he could finally spill his secret.

"You are still so totally grounded."

He laughed at that.

The weeks passed, Spider-Man being more active than ever, May allowing him to do whatever he deemed necessary as long as he did his schoolwork first, threatening him to not let his grades slide or she would come up with a list of rules as tall as Stark Tower.

No one told him to stop his weekly updates, so every time his shift as the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man came to an end, he sent Happy a voice message, talking about his day.

He was used to not getting an answer. That didn't mean that getting ignored hurt less. So the messages became less frequent with every week until Peter didn't bother to open their chat anymore, if one could even call it that, it was rather a monologue, really, ending his updates once and for all. They didn't care so what was the point? He saw that Happy didn't even look at the last two audios, which actually contained a hilarious story of a cat not wanting to get down from a tree.

Sometimes Peter heard the sound of Iron Man's repulsors whilst webbing his way through New York, the fifteen year old kid in him getting excited as he stopped to listen just to be even more disappointed than before as he couldn't hear it anymore. His mind was obviously playing tricks on him and he didn't like it, not when he knew that he would forgive Mr. Stark in a matter of seconds if he did show up which made him mad at himself for not being mean enough to hold a grudge.

His mother always used to tell him that he had a big heart.

Spider-Man was doing great, but Peter Parker wasn't. He didn't think that Tony Stark played such a big role in his life. Who was he kidding, of course he knew, he just didn't want to acknowledge it. That man was a part of his childhood just like he was a part of his teenage years, hell, he was the reason why Peter became so fascinated with technology in the first place.

_I just wanted to be like you!_

He remembered Uncle Ben being concerned as Peter told him that the Stark Expo was the best thing that has ever happened to him, that nearly getting killed by a roboter was the most amazing day in his life. His uncle never judged him, knew that it was a big deal for his nephew to be saved by his hero. It still seemed to frighten him that young Peter didn't run, and Peter couldn't blame him, it scared him as well.

He stopped being active in school, didn't play Flash any attention, not caring whether he got pushed against his locker twice or trice a day. Ned noticed, of course, the only person knowing what had happened between Peter and Mr. Stark, understanding that it took a toll on his best friend to slowly realise that the man he looked up to all his life simply didn't give a toss about him. Ned had a gentle soul. Still, he wanted to punch Mr. Stark in the face, after he was done fanboying, of course.

Peter dropped out of the decathlon team, not wanting to leave New York anymore in case something bad happened and he wasn't there to stop it. He felt like a shell during the day, nothing excited him anymore, not even Ned's new lightsabers or the next Star Wars coming out in a few short days only. The teen felt more empty and numb with every passing day without a message from Mr. Stark. And he felt so stupid for feeling that way, it was his own decision, wasn't it? He rejected his mentor, not the other way round.

It still hurt to realise that he was obviously only important as Spider-Man, not as Peter Parker. Mr. Stark would've contacted him otherwise.

But, as life would have it, the only thing making him feel something more than cold emptyness was still Spider-Man, excitement filling his body as soon as he webbed himself from one building to the other, climbing walls and jumping from skyscrapers, nearly screaming in joy as he was practically flying.

He couldn't wait to finish school that day, dreaming about how he could make a zip line out of his webs again, making it as flexible as possible so he could let out some steam whilst doing his acrobatics on the jumpy material.

As it turned out, fate had other ideas.

His spidey sense spiked up as soon as he opened their door, his usual "Aunt May, I'm home!" stuck in his throat as he saw her face. She sat on the couch in the living room, an unknown man in an expensive suit across from her. The man immediately stood up, shaking Peter's hand as he introduced himself.

"Mr. Parker, my name is Samuel Wintham, Anthony Stark's lawyer. We need to discuss your inheritance."

"My what?"

Peter's eyes widened in shock and confusion, his senses urging him on, telling him that something was incredibly wrong. He looked at Aunt May, his heart already in his throat, anxiety coursing through him, making him sick.

"Peter, I think you should sit down for a second, okay baby? We need to talk."

His whole world fell apart as they told him what happened.

Mr. Stark was dead.

To be honest, his mind couldn't catch up at first, his whole body frozen, eyes blinking in shock and confusion. Time stood still for a few seconds as he tried to register what he was told, his throat tightening painfully, his heartrate increasing drastically.

It was a stupid accident in his lab, he grabbed the wrong wire, electrocuting himself in the process. Peter knew that things like that could happen to anyone, but he was Tony Stark! He didn't just grab the wrong fucking wire!

He didn't care that Aunt May looked at him like he was going to crumble as he shook his head in denial, not knowing what to say, refusing to accept the fact that Mr. Stark was just...

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry."

She pulled him into a warm hug and he didn't refuse, ignoring the lawyer who just sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

Peter wasn't crying, no, his grief was quiet, his shaking body the only indication what pain he must have felt, not a single whimper leaving his mouth as his arms found their way around his aunts waist, not even squeezing.

He couldn't cry, not now, not ever. He was afraid that he couldn't stop once he started.

"Mr. Parker, I am terribly sorry for your loss, but we need to discuss our following actions."

He let go of his aunt, shaking fingers brushing through his hair before straightening his back, ignoring as his heart shattered into a million pieces for the second time in only three months.

"Yeah, of course, sorry."

"No problem, Mr. Parker. Are you aware of your part in Mr. Starks will?"

Peter laughed at that, a cold and raspy laugh, something that made shivers run down his spine.

"I didn't even know he had a will, let alone that I would be in it."

Frankly, he thought that Mr. Stark forgot about him the second he left the compound. Why would he care about Peter Parker? It was probably some kind of idiotic joke. Maybe Mr. Stark got him a Hello Kitty shirt matching his trousers. That would be his style, mocking him from his grave.

A hint of a smile graced his lips at that thought, the kid swallowing down the pain and grief that followed. He could do this.

"You are the owner of Stark Industries with immediate effect."

Silence.

He was the owner of _what?_

Peter was in total shock, his body tense as his senses threatened to send him into a sensory overload, shiver after shiver running down his spine, the feeling of helplessness filling him up to the brim. It was surely a joke. It had to be a joke. He couldn't just-

"Moreover, Mr. Stark wanted me to let you know-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Sir, but this must be some kind of mistake. I mean nothing to Mr. Stark, why would he give me his company?"

The lawyer was slightly taken aback, not quite knowing how to answer.

"My job is to inform you of his will, Mr. Parker, not to explain why he decided to do certain things. May I continue?"

Peter managed a shaky nod, grateful for his aunt's steadying hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles. He knew that she wanted to ease his pain, he also knew that she couldn't. Not really.

"Mr. Stark took care of your education, financially, to ensure that you can study at any university you want, even though he would still recommend MIT. He also said as you are only 14 years old-"

"Fifteen."

Samuel Wintham looked at him as if he's grown a second head.

"I- I'm fift- never mind, go on."

_And I wanted you to be better._

Peter had to close his eyes for a few seconds to compose himself, his hands nervously fidgeting in his lap.

"- Fifteen years old, you don't have to worry about the company yet. Miss Pepper Potts is still CEO of Stark Industries, which means that she is currently taking care of everything until you are old enough to lead, preferably after you graduated MIT or any other university."

Peter didn't know what to say, his brain having a total blackout. Was this really happening?

"Your ownership of Stark Industries is highly confidential, Mr. Stark was clearly emphasizing that he didn't want you to spend your remaining teenage years as a target for paparazzi. The only people knowing about this arrangement are you, your aunt, Miss Pepper Potts and myself."

He wouldn't have thought about that himself, glad that the media wasn't aware. Peter couldn't risk being in the limelight, not whilst being Spider-Man at the same time.

Gosh, how could he feel grateful for that?

Mr. Stark was dead.

His head was spinning, dizzyness causing him to sway a little as he tried to wrap his mind around everything.

The lawyer seemed to notice his discomfort, deciding to take pity on the young soul, cutting his speech short.

"Congratulations, Mr. Parker, you are the youngest billionaire to ever exist."

He didn't know what to do.

Peter kept silent, didn't say a word until Aunt May escorted Mr. Wintham to the door, closing it gently after him. He didn't move, his gaze haunted and empty as his eyes didn't leave the wall in front of him.

It was too much.

Why him? Why now? Couldn't he stay alive for a few more years? So that they could at least figure out their relationship?

What relationship? He ignored him, used him for his mutant abilities, didn't care for Peter. He made him fight against Captain America, took his suit away, a building crashed onto him because he couldn't-

He felt like falling into a black hole, getting sucked into it's darkness, hope slipping through his fingers.

"I hate him." he mumbled, fists clenched at his side. "I fucking hate him."

"Peter, you don't. You know you don't."

He knew she was right.

His sudden anger vanished as fast as it came over him, his knuckles cracking in agony as he opened his hands, flexing his fingers with a hiss.

It wasn't Mr. Stark's fault.

How could he ever hate the man who became his mentor? The man he looked up to? The man he started to see as a...

No. He wasn't going there.

"I thought he didn't care." His voice was nearly inaudible, a broken whisper of a little kid who realised that the world was more cruel than he thought it was.

May sighed, sitting next to him whilst gently rubbing his arm.

"I think Tony was a complicated man with lots of issues. Frankly, I never really liked him, but he did care. A lot. Maybe that was his biggest problem."

She chuckled at that. "You know, that's something you two have in common. You both care way too much about others and way too little about yourself."

Peter's world stopped that day and it refused to continue spinning. He mourned Mr. Stark's death differently than his parents' or Uncle Ben's. He wasn't crying, wasn't begging for it to stop hurting, it was as if he accepted the fact that people he cared for died. His grief was silent and cold, the knowledge that he was basically Tony Starks heir making him want to vomit.

How was he supposed to be the owner of Stark Industries? He didn't even know how to cook!

Peter nearly fainted as he put on his suit for the first time after Mr. Stark's death, FRIDAY greeting him instead of Karen with a solemn and gentle voice.

"Good evening, Peter, I'm sorry for your loss."

He felt like he couldn't breathe, FRIDAY's blue face howering before him, a small smile on her lips. Could AI's even smile?

"Thanks, Fri, but, why are you in my suit?"

And if AI's could look sympathetically, she certainly did.

"Boss wanted me to let you know that you have full access to his private lab in Stark Tower."

Peter always wanted to go to Mr. Stark's lab, he even asked him once, right after the battle in Germany, but he declined, telling him that it was too dangerous, that he was going to sell the Tower anyways. Peter couldn't remember whether he went through with it or not, the media not covering the sale.

Well, he didn't, obviously.

_A fucking wire._

"Plus, he would recommend you to visit the lab as soon as possible, DUM-E and U are your responsibility now."

"What?"

She didn't answer, Karen taking her place again before Peter jumped out of the window, ready to forget about his pain for the time being.

Long story short, Peter avoided the Tower as good as possible right until the day of Mr. Stark's funeral. He knew he had to go, but to be honest? He really didn't want to. It was a big event, live broadcasting and everything so the whole world could see. A funeral was supposed to be private, a little ceremony so that people like him could have closure, could grieve together. So instead of heading for the cemetery like he planned to, he webbed himself through New York, visiting the one place he thought he would never set his foot in, at least not until he was forced to.

He entered Stark Tower through an open window, quickly changing his clothes, stuffing his suit in his backpack before searching for the nearest elevator. To be honest, he had no idea what he was doing, but he knew that even though he wouldn't attend the funeral, he still needed to do something that involved Mr. Stark's legacy, so he might as well check on his lab.

"Hello, Peter, it's nice seeing you here."

FRIDAY made him jump, the vigilante throwing his hand over his mouth to muffle his surprised shriek.

"Friday? What the hell?"

"My apologies, Peter, I didn't mean to scare you."

Was she actually smug about this? He swore he could hear a soft chuckle. Could AI's be smug?

No, probably not, except FRIDAY. She was _his_ , after all.

"Would you like to go to Mr. Stark's lab?"

He shuddered, the gravity of what he was about to do, what he was about to enter suddenly clouding his mind. It was always his dream to see that lab, to be able to work there, but now? It felt like he was entering a doomed place.

"Yeah, uhm, yes, please."

The elevator janked upwards at an alarming speed, Peter latching himself onto the wall in surprise, the funny feeling in his stomach making him smile before the doors opened.

Peter Parker was basically talking all the time, but as soon as he saw Mr. Stark's lab he was totally speechless. FRIDAY turned the lights on slowly, illuminating the room in a dramatic way, the noise of machines coming to life making his heart beat faster. He couldn't believe his eyes, his mouth agape as he took everything in, the awe evident on his face.

"Wow," he whispered, surrounded by worktables and modern technology he has never seen before. He probably didn't even know what half of this was, but he would figure it out. Holographic screens started to appear around him, showing different sketches and plans.

"Boss wanted you to have access to every single file and project. You are free to work on whatever you want, but you might want to take a look at your own worktable in the right corner."

"My what?"

He didn't waste any time, his gaze immediately landing on an oval workdesk made out of steel just like the others, but with flasks and test tubes filling the table in every size imaginable. Peter couldn't believe his eyes as the drawers of the desk opened by themselves, showing him familiar chemicals and laboratory equipment, everything was there from tongs to syringes, a lab coat draped over a red and blue chair with his spider logo.

The realisation hit him in full force. Everything was there to create his-

"The table is specifically equipped to create your spiderwebs. Would you like me to shut off the privacy screen? The artificial light is rather depressing."

Peter tried to hold himself together as his lip wavered, desperately trying not to start the cycle. He couldn't cry, not now, not ever.

He wouldn't be able to stop.

"Yes."

His voice was strained and harsh, but FRIDAY didn't seem to mind, she was used to Mr. Stark, after all. He saw as the former black windows disappeared, making way for something marvelous.

He didn't expect the view to be so fantastic.

Whole New York City was below him, the otherwise high skyscrapers not reaching the height of Stark Tower, making Peter feel like he was on top of the world as he pressed himself as close to the panorama window as he could without touching the glass.

"This is awesome!" he exclaimed, a big smile on his awestruck face. The sudden need to jump overcame him, wanting to feel the wind howling past him as he fell before shooting one of his webs right on time so he wouldn't hit the ground, only merely scratching it sometimes.

His Spidey sense went off, ripping him out his thoughts.

The sound of something falling on the floor caught his attention, the vigilante turning around as quickly as inhumanly possible, but not fast enough to react as something activated a fire extinguisher, spraying the cold substance right into Peter's face.

He stumbled back at the impact before using his web shooter to catapult himself into safety, sticking to the ceiling, rubbing at his eyes to stop the uncomfortable stinging feeling.

"Friday, what is-"

Peter couldn't even finish his sentence, his eyes barely open as another stream of the extinguisher's content hit him, making him sneeze and cough at the same time, squeezing his face against the roof to shield himself from the attack.

"Peter, meet DUM-E and U, Mr. Stark's right hand robots."

"Mr. Stark's right Hand _what?"_

He tried to blink his eyes open as soon as the bottle seemed to be empty, looking down to see what has doused him in apparently two bottles of fire extinguisher.

To say that he was surprised that a robot was holding the red bottle in his metallic claw whilst somehow staring at him angrily was an understatement. It was only a few seconds later that he saw the second one, nearly similar to the one with the extinguisher, but with an old cam corder in it's claw and a yellow and black striped sticker on it's metallic arm. Or was it it's neck?

Peter didn't quite know what to... do?

"Uhm, hi guys, how- how are you?"

The first robot let go of his bottle, said object falling to the grund with a lout crash, beeping whilst making circles underneath him, the second bot beeping as well, accusingly moving the camera to get Peter on tape.

"I think they believe you are an introder."

Oh, well, that kinda made sense.

"Are they, like, intelligent? I mean, like you?" he asked, keeping his voice down in case they understood him. These were Mr. Starks creations, surely they weren't normal robots.

"Mr. Stark says so, though I am still not convinced. They appear to have their own mind and Mr. Stark talks to them a lot. They seem to understand him."

Wow, that was so cool. He had his own intelligent bots?

Of course he had.

Peter felt a new kind of excitement coursing through his veins, letting himself hang upside down from the ceiling, a big smile on his lips as he looked the first robot in the... claw? They were definitely metallic claws, black rubber on their tips so it could grab onto stuff without damaging it.

"Hey there, I'm Peter, Peter Parker! And you are?" It should have felt weird to talk to a bot, but he didn't really care, this was the best thing ever! He quickly scanned the robot for a name, snorting as he saw the white letters on it's side.

"So, you're DUM-E, uh? That's a cool name!"

Something clicked in the back of his mind, an old article he has read in school about a robot being built at MIT by Mr. Stark. Wasn't he called something like that as well?

"Which means that the one still recording me must be U. Pleased to meet you, too!"

Peter chuckled as both bots beeped in delight, lowering himself to the ground, glad that they didn't attack him again.

Why did he feel like they knew him? It was odd, really, their entire behavior changed, their stances not angry or intimidating at all, the two bots still beeping full of excitement, DUM-E even going so far as to gently poke him whilst U was trying to thrust the cam into his hands without an accident.

"Alright, guys, let's just calm down for a minute, yeah? U, you want me to take a look at that?"

He didn't know why the bot wanted him to have it, but he took it with a friendly smile, thanking it in the process.

"Boss told U to record his test runs and any unusual lab activity for him to rewatch afterwards."

Peter was still flabbergasted as to how incredible those bots were. U realised that him being in the lab was unusual, immediately grabbing the camera, actually turning it on itself and filming? He felt like he was in heaven.

"Well, we might want to take a look, eh?"

It turned out that rewatching that thing was the best decision in his life. Peter couldn't remember when he was laughing like that the last time, his stomach hurting and his face red, his lungs desperately trying to get some air into him whilst he was literally lying on the cold floor as FRIDAY projected the video in the air.

DUM-E and U were clearly enjoying themselves as well, happily rolling across the lab whilst beeping, nudging him from time to time to see if he was still alive.

He decided to stop after watching U's recording for the third time, thinking that enough is enough as he stood up with a heavy sigh, affectionately patting DUM-E's head. And yes, it was it's head, at least Peter decided that he would call the space between it's claw and the black robotic arm it's head.

Another hologram popping up got his attention, his hand still on DUM-E, that bot was clearly the one who needed more physical contact, displaying more data. Peter took a closer look, his eyes widening as he realised what those files were.

Every single recording of Mr. Stark's test runs.

"Fri, play the very first vid, please."

He couldn't help himself, knowing that he was probably stepping over the line, ignoring Mr. Stark's privacy by watching them. But his heart was beating faster and his gaze got slightly blurry and oh god he couldn't stop the agonizing smile on his lips as he saw him standing in the middle of another lab, probably the very first version of Iron Man's repulsors on his feet, connected to the glowing arc reactor in his chest.

Peter was close to breaking down, but he wouldn't let himself, not when he had the opportunity to see his mentor's behaviour without paparazzi or a war between the Avengers.

His hand came up to his mouth as soon as he heard his voice.

"Alright, so, it's the, uhm... JARVIS?"

"It's the 14th of April 2008, Sir. May I remind you that your last meal was-"

"Yeah, whatever, you can scold me later."

A tired laugh escaped him, the teen wiping at his stinging eyes to prevent any tears from falling. He could do this, he could do this, come on, Spider-Man. He had to close his eyes for a second as Mr. Stark's voice rang through the lab once more.

"Okay, let's do this right!"

Mr. Stark sighed, seeming to prepare himself for whatever he was trying to do.

"DUM-E, you hit the lights and stand back for fire safety. U? Roll it! Okay, activating hand controls." Peter couldn't keep in his snort as he practically saw the most prideful man in the universe do a little dance, the whole atmosphere making him smile like a maniac.

This was actually fun.

"We're going to start off nice and easy; we're going to see if 10% thrust capacity achieves lift. 3, 2, 1..."

The next thing Peter knew was that Mr. Stark launched, nay, catapulted himself into the air with the speed of a race car, slamming his whole body against the wall before falling to the ground with a loud groan, DUM-E totally panicking before covering him with the powder from the fire extinguisher. U seemed to be helpless as well, dropping the camera as he rushed to the scene, a long and scared beep leaving him.

Peter's good mood vanished in the blink of an eye, the kid worrying even though he knew that nothing happened, Mr. Stark wouldn't have become Iron Man otherwise.

"DUM-E, stop that, you dunce! U, no, okay boys you can stop now, I'm fine, see? Nothing happened. Ah ah ah! Don't get the first aid- never mind."

A limping Mr. Stark picked the camera up, his nose bleeding like a waterfall, DUM-E and U still looking concerned in the background.

"Sir, may I recommend to lower your thrust capacity the next time you attempt to fly?"

"I swear to god, JARVIS, if you don't shut it right now I'll donate you to a retirement home!"

Although his wording was harsh and he looked like he got beaten up, a shit-eating grin appeared on his younger face, a deep chuckle following that motion before he shut the cam down, leaving Peter in sudden silence. He has never seen him smile like that, like he actually meant it.

"Would you like me to play the next recording, Peter?"

He couldn't verbally answer, giving FRIDAY a shaky nod instead, taking a deep breath. Now or never.

As it turned out, Mr. Stark was a genious, surprise, but he was crap when it came to being careful not to slam himself into every single wall in his lab. DUM-E and U were panicking every time he failed, his former AI, JARVIS, on the other hand, was a sassy little bastard, Mr. Stark's words, not Peter's.

"Watching you work is incredibly entertaining, Sir, you should consider becoming a comedian."

Mr. Stark only grunted in response.

He found himself enjoying the videos after getting used to the mechanic's dramatic approach without any real safety regulations because come on, DUM-E didn't really count. Speaking of the bots, U made him a bag of popcorn in the microwave after he asked if they've got something to eat, DUM-E still trying to get the blender to work. Peter didn't know what kind of smoothie the guy was making, but he wasn't picky, really, still amazed how adorable they both were.

"Day 11, test 37, configuration 2.0; for lack of a better option DUM-E is still on fire safety," Peter had to laugh as real life DUM-E made an outraged beep, successfully hitting the blender to the floor in the process as the voice continued. "If you douse me again and I'm not on fire I'm donating you to city college."

"Hey, Dumdum, I feel like you just really enjoy using that thing, huh?" he called over his shoulder, chuckling at the still beeping bot.

Peter's gut was cribbling, the vigilante not paying it much attention as he focused on the video again, feeling somewhat happy for once. He heard as DUM-E rolled over, a dark smoothie in his claw, Mr. Stark's on-screen voice making his smile even bigger.

"Alright, nice and easy, seriously, just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity."

Of course he has seen Mr. Stark fly in his Iron Man suit, but watching him fly with only those repulsors on his feet and stabilisators in his palms, both connected to the arc reactor? It made him sit up in awe as he realised that this was it, this was the moment his favourite hero was born.

Yeah, sure, he looked up to him before he anounced to the world that he was Iron Man, but watching those tapes made him feel like he was actually there for it, at least sort of.

He thought he couldn't admire the genious more, but well, he was wrong.

The landing wasn't the smoothest thing he has ever seen, Mr. Stark stumbling backwards, playing it cool whilst clearly geeking out in reality, turning his back to the cam so he could look at his other bot.

"Please don't follow me around with it either because I feel like I'm going to catch on fire spontaneously."

A gentle nudge against his arm made him look up from the screen, smiling as he saw DUM-E still holding onto that smoothie, Peter taking it with a soft thank you whilst patting the bot.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you, kid."

Peter froze.

That voice was slightly different, not coming out of the speakers, the source being right behind him. He didn't dare turning around, his sight getting blurry, but there was no way to stop it this time.

He couldn't be there.

"You know, I just crashed my own funeral, which was hilarious, by the way, realising mid-way through that you weren't there."

Peter had to close is eyes, trying to ground himself as his body shook, head low to keep himself from looking. He could imagine how he just stood there in his expensive suit, sunglasses keeping everyone from looking into his eyes, making it impossible to read him. He couldn't help the small whimper this time, immediately swallowing it down.

He couldn't cry, definitely not now, not ever.

"How did you get in here, anyway?"

His shaking hand placed the heavy glass onto the table before him, not hearing DUM-E's beeping as he tried not to jump out of his chair.

This couldn't happen.

"Boss, may I remind you that as you requested your fake death to be as real as possible, the _Stark-Heir-Protocol_ was initiated."

"Oh, crap."

He heard the footsteps coming closer before they stopped, a tense sigh filling the lab. Peter couldn't believe that this was indeed happening, his brain completely shutting down, not bothering to reboot again. His emotions were all over the place, ultimate relief that he wasn't gone after all, hope that he wasn't just imagining things, doubt that it was real, fear that it was only his mind playing tricks on him, and anger.

He was so angry that he didn't know what to do, not able to stop the tears this time, heavy drops landing on his cheeks.

Oh, crap? Really? That was it?

He stood up and turned around so fast that it was impossible for a human eye to see, his fists clenched at his side, nostrils flaring as he took deep breaths in his rage.

"Oh, crap? _Oh, crap?_ Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

"Boss, it appears that Mr. Parker is angry."

"FRIDAY, this is not the time for being a smartass. Hey, Spidey, calm down, it's fine."

He lifted his hands in surrender, taking a small step back, just in case, but Peter wasn't having it, not this time.

"You have the fucking nerve to fake your death for over a week without telling me?!"

"Young man, watch your language," Mr. Stark, _Mr. Stark,_ said, voice stern before his facial expression changed into annoyance. "I can't believe I just said that."

He took a deep breath.

"Listen up, Parker, I had no other choice. It was a _mission_ , they needed me dead, you understand?"

Peter wanted to punch him, to hurl him against the nearest wall, not because he wanted to hurt him but because he was so unbelievably angry and upset that he just couldn't think straight, more tears streaming down his face, one sob after the other making him shiver in pain.

"Don't fucking tell me to watch my fucking language! Can you even imagine what you've put me through? You were my hero, Stark, my _hero_ , do- do _you_ understand?"

He was getting closer and closer, one rage-filled step at a time, his knuckles cracking as he desperately tried not to lash out. He didn't care whether it was a stupid mission or not, didn't care whether it was his decision, hell, he didn't even know that he was capable of this amount of pure anger, it would've scared him any other day.

"Come on, kid, you need to calm down. Shit, I clearly didn't think this through."

Peter nearly laughed at that, nearly tilted his head up to the sky because this was what it took for the great Tony Stark to realise that he screwed up.

"You ignore me for three whole months, not answering any of my messages, pretending like I simply don't exist after you told me that you wanted to do better than Howard? After you told me that I was your responsibility? After wanting me to do better and asking me to become an Avenger?!"

He was screaming, his voice breaking in several places, making him sound broken rather than dangerous, his face red and puffy, the tears never stopping as he was right in front of him.

"But I kept on hoping that you would call me, or- or do _something_ , but you just left me and then you died and oh god, oh my god I thought you- "

"Peter,"

"- and then that lawyer came over and he told me that I was supposed to- "

"Peter."

"- he said you were d- dead and, and that you gave everything to me and I- "

"Peter!"

Peter's mouth snapped shut in a second, the sound of his teeth clashing together echoing through the lab, eyes wide and sight blurry and he couldn't really see anything but he was still so mad but he was also scared and-

"Look at me."

He tried to blink away his tears, doing as he was told, the blood pulsing in his head nearly driving him insane, all the pent up feelings swallowing him, making him gasp for air, his whole body shivering like a leaf.

"I'm sorry."

That was all it took for Peter's knees to buckle, his rage vanishing in the blink of an eye, leaving him more exhausted than ever. It was as if something sucked all his energy out of him in one second, making him defenseless.

The only thing keeping him upright were Mr. Stark's hands on his shoulders, refusing to let him fall.

"Hey, hey, kiddo, don't break on me. I'm sorry, you hear?"

He was still shaking, whimper after whimper leaving him, his body falling forwards, his forehead resting on Mr. Stark's shoulder, his fists finally unclenching, not bothering to move his arms.

Those were probably the most awkward seconds in Peter Parker's existence, right until the billionaire hesitantly wrapped his arms around him, gently pulling him close.

"It's alright, kid, it's alright. Deep breaths, okay? You're fine."

It took a few minutes for Peter to calm down enough to actually move, wrapping his arms around his mentor like he was the only thing keeping him from shattering, his tears soaking the expensive suit, but Mr. Stark didn't seem to care, whispering soothing words and lame jokes into his hair instead.

It took him even longer to find his voice.

"I forgive you."

Those words didn't help his quiet sobs, more tears staining the suitjacket which was pressed against his cheek as he heard Mr. Stark taking in a shaky breath, pulling him slightly closer.

"And I'm sorry for shouting at you, that wasn't really nice."

He heard the man chuckle at that, fondly patting his back whilst slightly shaking his head.

"Don't sweat it, kid."

"Oh, and Mr. Stark?"

"Hmm?"

"This isn't a hug, I just needed something to wipe my nose."

To say that Peter nearly died from laughter as his mentor pushed him away with a disgusted shriek was the understatement of the century, the teen gracing the world with a mischievous smirk as he basically glued himself upside down to the ceiling.

"Peter!"

Just in case.

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe I'll turn this into my insomnia series, who knows.  
> Anyway - good night, pals.


End file.
